Weekly Recap
This week all of the installer teams working on the MassTech grant
came together for the first time since the project started to share
tips, tricks, and feedback from install techs and fishermen alike. We
heard from installers about the tools and consumables they wished they’d
had for trickier installs, heard from the team at Lowell Instruments
about some new software tools they were developing to aid in the install
process, and got secondhand feedback from a number of captains about
bugs with their systems and feature requests.
One thing that’s come through loud and clear from this conversation,
break out discussions at the Cooperative Research Summit, Squid Squad
meetings, and dockside chats with individual fishermen is that you all
would like easier access to the range of data products produced by
scientists around the region. We’re hoping to work with scientists in
other parts of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and at some of our
partner organizations like the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
and Ocean Data Network to build out those tools in the coming
months.
We’d also encourage any participating captain who is interested to
hop online and check out the password-protected online dashboard
developed by Ocean Data Network and hosted by the Gulf of Maine Lobster
Foundation. Here, you can see all the data collected on your boat in
more detail than we can display on the deckboxes, and it’s (at least in
our opinions) easier to look back at your history. We appreciate the
feedback about adding some other resources to that page and will be
working to figure out what’s possible in the coming weeks.
This week, the eMOLT fleet recorded 125 tows of sensorized fishing
gear totaling 504 sensor hours underwater. The warmest recorded bottom
temperature was 53.1 F near Wilmington Canyon in approximately 76
fathoms (red profile) and the coldest recorded bottom temperature was
32.5 F off the backside of Cape Cod in approximately 7 fathoms (blue
profile). Below, you can see these profiles plus a few other temperature
profiles of interest across the region from the last week.

Figure 1 – Temperature profiles collected by eMOLT participants
over the last week. The blue profile is where the coldest bottom
temperature was measured and the red profile is where the warmest bottom
temperature was measured. All other colors are assigned randomly.
Colored points on the map indicate where profiles of the same color were
collected. The small dark green dots represent other profiles collected
this week, but not highlighted in the plot. Note that the warmest /
coldest bottom temperatures measured could have occurred during gear
soaks, which are not represented on this profile plot.
A big thanks this week to Joaquim Oller at Lowell Instruments for his
help getting the 50 and 100 fathom contours onto the NECOFS forecasts.
That update is visible in the plots below and will also be available on
deckboxes in a future software update. This is a step towards getting to
better displays that include more underwater features to spatially
reference the water temperature forecasts.
System Hardware Upgrade List
The following vessels remain on our list for hardware upgrades. If
you aren’t on the list and think you should be, please reach out.
Note that this list is different from our new install
queue.
- F/V Kaitlyn Victoria
- F/V Kyler C
- F/V Noella C
- F/V Sea Watcher I
- F/V Virginia Marise
Bottom Temperature Forecasts
Doppio
This week, 74% of bottom temperature observations were within 2
degrees (F) of the Doppio forecasted value at those points. Temps were
warmer than expected along the northern edge of Georges, and
substantially warmer than expected by Wilmington and Hudson Canyons. The
forecast performed well along the Maine coast, Cape Cod, and east of
Long Island.

Figure 2 – Performance of the Doppio forecast’s bottom
temperature layer over the last week relative to observations collected
by eMOLT participants. Red dots indicate areas where bottom temperature
observations were warmer that predicted. Blue dots indicate areas where
bottom temperature observations were cooler than predicted. Bottom
temperature observations are compared with the most recent forecast run
available before the observation was made.

Figure 3 – The most recent Doppio bottom temperature forecast.
The gray line is the 50 fathom line and the black line is the hundred
fathom line. Purple shades indicate cooler water.
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System

Figure 4 – The most recent bottom temperature forecast from the
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System GOM7 model. The gray line is the
50 fathom line and the black line is the hundred fathom line. Purple
shades indicate cooler water.

Figure 5 – The most recent bottom temperature forecast from the
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System MassBay model. Purple shades
indicate cooler water.
Announcements
Northeast Cooperative Research Summit Feedback Requested
If you attended the Northeast Cooperative Research Summit, please
fill out this five
minute feedback form to let us know how we did. Your input will help
determine the format and content of this event in the future. Thanks
again for your participation and enthusiasm, and please don’t hesitate
to reach out for future conversations.
Low Carbon Fishing Fleet Fellowship Opportunity
Sarah Schumann, a commercial fisherman from RI and the Director of
the Fishery
Friendly Climate Action Campaign is seeking two Maine-based
fishermen to join a cohort of fellows from across New England as part of
the “Low Carbon Fishing Fleet Fellowship” program this year. This
fellowship aims to develop your capacity in community-based peer
leadership and fishing vessel energy innovation and policy. Fellows will
take the knowledge already compiled through the Fishery
Friendly Climate Action Campaign’s Transition to a Low Carbon Fishing
Fleet initiative and turn it into forward movement by producing
action agendas for advancing fishing community-led visions of a low
carbon fishing fleet within their states and fleets.
For more details, please click here
or email Sarah directly at schumannsarah@gmail.com.
Contribute to the 2026 Management Track Fishery Stock
Assessments
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center seeks input from our regional
assessment partners, including the fishing industry (commercial and
recreational), state agency scientists, academic researchers, and
interested members of the public to help guide development of our next
Management
Track Assessments.
Specifically, the NEFSC is looking for on-the-water observations or
data sets on topics such as distribution, stock health, fishing dynamics
and management, and the role these stocks play in the ecosystem. There
are two ways to participate.
There are two ways to participate:
June 2026 Management Track Stocks include
- Atlantic herring
- Butterfish
- Georges Bank Atlantic cod
- Georges Bank haddock
- Longfin inshore squid
- Ocean quahog
Disclaimer
The eMOLT Update is NOT an official NOAA document. Mention of
products or manufacturers does not constitute an endorsement by NOAA or
Department of Commerce. The content of this update reflects only the
personal views of the authors and does not necessarily represent the
views of NOAA Fisheries, the Department of Commerce, or the United
States.
All the best,
-George and JiM